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Enoch Underwood
Enoch Downs Underwood (March 5, 1817 — April 26, 1888), also known as E.D. Underwood, was an abolitionist, and the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Wauwatosa. He was born in Farmington, Virginia (now West Virginia), and then moved to Danville, Illinois, in 1824. In 1836, he moved with his family to the Wisconsin Territory in 1836, where he settled in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and was married to Harriet Underwood in 1842. Biography When Enoch Underwood was 21 years old, his father, William Underwood conveyed a one-fourth section of land to him. It was located south of the Watertown Plank Road and ran from the country line (124th Street) eastward to what is now 116th Street. Through this land flows a creek which is now known as Underwood creek. In the spring of 1839 Rev. Wheelock of the Methodist Church settled in Wauwatosa to do missionary work. Enoch had remembered that it had been necessary for him to walk to Danville, Illinois, to receive his schooling. Soon after meeting Reverend Wheelock he talked to him about schools for Wauwatosa. He learned that there were two young ladies living in the Township of Lisbon who held teachers' certificates issued in the U.S. State of Indiana. They moved to Wauwatosa and Miss Elizabeth Denny became the first teacher at the new district school in what was called the Wales house out near the county farms. The other sister, Harriet, was soon after married to Enoch Underwood by Reverend Wheelock. Before his marriage E.D. Underwood had no fixed religious views. But he was a natural orater and spoke extemporaneously on subjects of public interest. His wife instilled religious faith in him and when a Baptist Church was organized in Wauwatosa he acted as clerk. In September of 1849 a special meeting was called and those present believed he should be ordained. He was ordained on December 8, 1849 as Elder Enoch D. Underwood. The term Elder was applied to early pastors in this new territory who had no special training for the ministry. Elder Underwood served for the next thirty-eight years as pastor of the Baptist Church. In 1852 he was instrumental in purchasing a lot and building their first church on the corner of Wauwatosa Avenue and North Avenue. In 1859 the Underwood Family moved from the farm out near the county line to a house on North Avenue, diagonally across from the Baptist Church. This new property extended from what is now 73rd Street and 80th Street, and was farmed by the Underwoods. Towards the latter days of his pastorate, Elder Underwood urged that a new and larger church be built closer to the Village. In 1887 he purchased a new site at 75th Street and Hillcrest Drive for $2400 and presented it to the church. Then in March of 1888 he died just a half year before the second Baptist Church was completed. History Enoch Underwood was the original pastor of the First Baptist Church of Wauwatosa. He was most noted for his abolitionist views of slavery during the pre-Civil War era. Although there are few documenting records of the Underground Railroad in Wisconsin, local oral histories indicate that Enoch Underwood and his family were active participants in the Underground Railroad. Underwood's opinions on slavery were held by most of the members of his congregation. These beliefs resulted in separation of Underwood's congregation from the Greenfield Baptist Church. He led the First Baptist Church congregation for 88 years. Career As pastor at the First Baptist Church Predecessor: W.R. Manning Successor: Gallery Sources *''History of Milwaukee, Wisconsin: From Pre-historic Times ..., Page 1, Issue 886'' *''The Underwood families of America'' (Underwood, Lucien Marcus), published 1913, page2 520–523. Category:Deceased Individuals Category:Persons of Note Category:Wauwatosa Cemetery burials Category:1888 deaths Category:1817 births Category:Founding Fathers of Wauwatosa